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2012 Favorites and Reflections

2012 has been such a strange year for me. I got back into beauty blogging, which I had left for lots of reasons. At the same time, I struggled (and still do) to figure out how I stand with makeup right now.

My biggest problem is product hoarding — I’m such a magpie when it comes to makeup. I see ornate packaging, or a pretty purple shadow, or some utterly ridiculous gimmick and I just can’t help myself. Then it just sits and at best, rarely gets used.

Plus, as I’ve mentioned before, I don’t often wear makeup anymore. I don’t wear it to work, and to make matters worse, I’m a classic introvert: I very, very, very rarely go out. I’d rather stay in, in my pajamas and veg out on the couch or in front of the computer than go bar-hopping or whatever.
I’d love to have a “day” set that my friends and I go out and catch up, but all of our schedules are so wonk that it just never happens. I haven’t even seen my best friend for almost three weeks now because of the holidays and our work schedules.

Well, despite all this rambling, I have managed to become enamored with certain items this year. Here are my 2012 favorites, in no particular order:

1. Urban Decay Naked Skin Foundation (Click here for my review!) — I was blown away by how much I could enjoy using a foundation. I just love the flawless yet natural, second skin finish I get from this foundation. It has great lasting power on me, especially with a good primer underneath and I love it as much for casual day looks as I do for a more dramatic “made-up” face.

2. Aquaphor Lip Repair — I have chronically dry, chapped, peeling, flaking lips. You can see this in any of my older lip swatch close-ups. Despite constantly applying lip balm (which, yes, I’ve heard can make it worse) nothing ever seems to help. I’ve heard all the hype about Aquaphor, so I finally bit the bullet and bought a tube a few weeks ago. And they’re not kidding. I put this on at night and it keeps my lips soft, smooth and moisturized all day! Definitely a miracle worker for me.

3. Shiseido Perfect Foundation Brush(Click here for my review!) — This changed my opinion about makeup brushes forever. Before I got this brush, I believed it didn’t make too much of a difference what sort of applicator you used. Man, was I wrong. This brush just makes every foundation go on smoothly and leaves an airbrushed finish. I’m so obsessed with it, that I want to stock up. On a makeup brush. I realize how absurd that sounds, but that’s how much I love it!

4. Maybelline The Falsies Volum’Express Mascara — For someone with stick straight and short, stubby lashes, this mascara is a godsend. Although I’ve gotten the hang of using false lashes now, I still rely on mascara for day-to-day looks. I use the waterproof version in Blackest Black and it holds a curl all day, lasts through watery, weepy eyes and never flakes or smudges on me. Plus it really does lengthen and volumize my otherwise non-existent lashes!

5. Kiss Me Heroine Make Smooth Liquid Eyeliner N — Black liners are one of those things every makeup addict has a million of, but if I had to choose one for the rest of my life, I’d pick this one. It’s a brush-style pen which allows for easy, precise lines. I can go super pencil-point thin or flatten it out for thicker lines. The shade is an inky pure matte black which lasts all day on me, but removes easily with every makeup remover I’ve thrown at it. Despite it being a liquid, I can use this as quickly and easily as a pencil because of the brush tip. Definitely HG material for me, and y’all know I don’t use that term lightly. I haven’t even glanced a side-eye at another black liner since I found this one.

6. Hard Candy Take It Off! Lotion Makeup Remover — I actually have a full review for this in the works, and once it’s up, I will come back to link to it. I usually rely on oil cleansers or bi-phase removers (like another favorite, the Lumene Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover) for stubborn eye makeup. However, I picked this up on a whim one day and although it’s not the least fussiest remover I’ve ever used (requires a bit of massaging to break up the makeup), it’s excellent in that it takes everything off and leaves absolutely no residue — no oily feeling, no greasiness, nothing. For that reason, I love it for fixing goof ups without having to take off my full face of makeup, and it doesn’t require an extra rinsing step. That, in my opinion, makes it especially noteworthy.

I’m excited for all the new products of 2013, as they’re slowly starting to leak out. My beauty blogging resolution is to do more eye and face looks!
I hope everyone has a happy new year! What were your favorite products of 2012?